1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to joining structural members in furniture construction and more particularly to a right angle post-to-rail joint and furniture assemblies incorporating such joints.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of modular furniture is presently available, ranging from kits for do-it-yourself assembly to office and commercial furniture requiring skilled workers for assembly. The manner in which structural parts are interfitted and the arrangements of fasteners vary widely from simple nuts and bolts to complex systems of interrelated elements subject to tension and compression. Many of the basic principles were known and employed by carpenters and joiners for generations before the current demand for modular furniture came into existence.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 312,731 shows a table designed to be knocked down for shipping or storage that employs cup shaped locking rings to join arms to the legs of the table. A long threaded rod and hand-nut arrangement is shown in this patent for tightening the assembly.
A modern modular room divider arrangement of panels forming a straight wall is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,467 wherein wedging surfaces at the vertical end faces of panels slidably mate with wedging surfaces of blocks between adjacent panels. Panels can be drawn together by drawing the wedging blocks into position by means of a screw arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,893 relates to the assembly of shelves, primarily by the use of opposed channel-shaped caps, the legs of which fit into horizontal grooves of panels. The caps are secured within the ends of supports and are interconnected by bolts and the joints are concealed by the ends of supports within which the caps are mounted. The patent mentions that supports having a round cross-sectional shape could be employed if a very pull-resistant connection is not too important, and that in such an arrangement the connection could be made by turning of the respective supports.
Other arrangments for joining horizontal to vertical structural members are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,962,415 and 3,747,885.
Despite these and other prior attempts to provide a system for joining parts of modular furniture, there remains a demand for a versatile and attractive yet simple system employing similar joint structures throughout.